1. Dialogues. Rodin, Medardo, Wildt —

Ca’ Pesaro ENG International Gallery of Modern Art 3 4 1. Dialogues. 14 Rodin, Medardo, Wildt 13 15 1 2 5 12 7 6 11 10 9 8 Three fundamental exponents of not only the collection but also twentieth-century European sculpture, offer an impressive opening to the tour. Auguste Rodin (Paris 1840 – Meudon 1917), the greatest French sculptor of his times, did not follow the traditional path of education. Fascinated by Michelangelo, he mediated the naturalism of forms, the memory of classicism, the harrowing dynamic nature of poses and the complexity of symbols, with sensational results. Medardo Rosso (Turin 1858 – Milan 1928) is the greatest Italian sculptor of that period. A complex, rebellious figure, who was more famous in Paris where he lived for years than in his homeland, he experimented and anticipated new expressive languages. With visual perception and immediate psychology as his starting point, he seems to sculpture on the light and space itself, so that the material seems to dissolve and voids are eliminated. Adolfo Wildt (Milan 1868 – 1931), a solitary “self-taught figure without rules”, but one with virtuoso technical skill, infinite patience, expertise, slowness and care. With very close ties to central Europe, his detailed, topical cultural references express both Expressionist and Symbolist elements, and similarities with the Secession and Art Nouveau. The monument to the Burghers refers to an event in the fourteenth century when six inhabitants of a besieged Calais offered the enemy their lives to save the city. Commissioned by the city council, the work met with resounding success although Rodin’s wishes were not actually respected: he had wanted it to be placed on the town hall steps without a pedistal so it would have encouraged a sort of immediate dialogue between the ancient burgher heroes and the current world. Medardo’s The Concierge and the Child in the Soup Kitchen (or at the kindergarden for a piece of bread) belong to what was still a profound realist phase, in which the interplay of light is given an emotive role, while the Woman with a Veil is the impression of an instant, a fleeting meeting on the street. >>> Ca’ Pesaro ENG International Gallery of Modern Art — 1. Dialogues. Rodin, Medardo, Wildt — Larass is the model for the portrait of the architect who designed the gardens for Franz Rose’s estate, Wildt’s German patron. The marble version was a mask dominating one of the paths in the park, with works of art scattered around, but destroyed by bombs during the Second World War. The evocations that result from the combination of the sculptures in the room are around Rodin. According to reports, Rodin and Medardo both admired and respected one another and they even exchanged their works but this came to an abrupt end in 1898 when critics observed that Medardo might have influenced Rodin’s innovative style in his monument to Balzac. On the other hand, Wildt seems to have followed Rodin’s lessons in his experimentation of the infinite expressive possibilities that every part of the human body offered. Both Medardo and Wildt were involved by Margherita Sarfatti in the first exhibition of the Italian Novecento in 1926, and they differed considerably from one another, both at a human and artistic level. Medardo makes the object unravel in light to create a mass in the rapid and transitory dimension of a gesture on wax; Wildt, on the other hand, excavates and pierces, creating voids that become the expression of a volume while the marble yields to a finish that distorts its characteristics. What do such diverse choices have in common? The conscious aim, followed by both but each in their own way, to be able to cross the limits of sculpture. Above the door: Gerolamo Brusaferro (1677-1745), Virtue and Constance, ca. 1702, fresco in stucco frame The itinerary continues in room 2, to the left of the museum entrance Please return this card Ca’ Pesaro ENG International Gallery of Modern Art 3 4 2. From the Macchiaioli to 14 scientific Luminism 13 15 1 2 5 12 7 6 11 10 9 8 The latest French trends, from anti-academic Realism to the more recent examples of landscape following the Barbizon school were presented in Paris in 1855 at the Universal Exhibition. Various Italian artists visited it with great interest: in Italy art was experiencing the path of the “real” and the Academy was losing its role as guide; furthermore, painters of different origins were united in trying their hands at painting outdoors – elaborated by real facts and worked through in an innovative fashion – whilst also having an opportunity to meet on the battle fields of the Risorgimento, sharing the same patriotic ideals (and dying in great numbers). It was in this context, between 1850 and 1860 that the Macchiaioli movement developed in Florence; its aim was to portray reality as seen by the human eye, in other words, through light and splashes of colour. This led to the study of new values in painting that were founded on the relationship between colours and volumes expressed in synthetic contrasts of light and shadow. It was an innovative movement, and one that – owing to the clear differences in its studies, range and results - preceded but did not anticipate Impressionism (which was ‘officially’ founded in Paris in 1874). The Tuscans Telemaco Signorini and Giovanni Fattori are outstanding exponents of the Macchiaioli movement, to which in many ways the Venetian Guglielmo Ciardi also belonged. Of Signorini’s two works on display here, the rigorous interior of the Florentine lunatic asylum surpasses the Macchiaioli instances, representing one of the greatest achievements of Italian painting of reality. Fattori’s canvas is almost like a snap shot of a military subject that has been treated with concise realism, without any rhetoric but with heartfelt participation. This ‘scientific’ interest in the optical effects of colour combinations continues and intensifies also beyond the Macchiaioli movement; in Italy, on the other hand, having been unified in 1861, unsolved social issues gradually emerge and the centre of >>> Ca’ Pesaro ENG International Gallery of Modern Art — 2. From the Macchiaioli to scientific Luminism — artistic research now coincides with the productive heart of the country, Milan. Here, in 1891, at the first Triennale exhibition a group of paintings stands out with its pure colours that are “divided” into patches (hence the critical name “divisionism”). The underlying idea of divisionism is similar to that of the contemporary French Pointillism; however, on the one hand, in addition to an interest in the landscape (for example in the works on display here by Grubicy) the Italian works pay particular attention to social themes (for example in Morbelli’s intense Christmas); on the other, there is the expressed wish to resort to dreams (for example, Nomellini’s work here) or philosophical themes, paving the way for Symbolism. Medardo Rosso’s studies on the relationship between light, material and the surrounding space were just as rigorous and revolutionary, finding their highest expression in Madame X, a unique piece that the artist was extremely fond of and which he donated to the museum, together with other sculptures. The amazing, anticipating abstraction of this work became an unavoidable reference for countless artists after him. Above the door: Gerolamo Brusaferro (1677-1745), Glory and Eternity (west door); Divination and military Goodwill (east door), circa 1702, frescoes in stucco frame. The itinerary continues in room 3: with your back to room 1, turn left Please return this card Ca’ Pesaro ENG International Gallery of Modern Art 3 4 3. From Realism 14 to the Belle époque 13 15 1 2 5 12 7 6 11 10 9 8 Between 19th and 20th centuries, the most important European countries and the United States witnessed what proved to be staggering industrial development, accompanied by continuous fundamental technological progress, urban revolutions and great expansionist and colonial designs. Maker and protagonist of this new world, the bourgeoisie also expressed a demand for self-representation, thus encouraging the birth of new painting genres Numerous universal exhibitions offered an opportunity for international exchange; in addition, it was in this context that art merchants began to play a new, decisive role - from Paul Durand Rouel to Goupil with his branches in many European capitals and in New York – in mediating and meeting their clients’ tastes and determining and promoting the success of artists. Amongst these were the “Italians in Paris”: Giuseppe di Nittis and Federico Zandomeneghi - whose works on display here focus on female figures – interpreting the social circles with the greatest skill, and achieving both fame and success in the French capital. Noteworthy are also the painting by the Spaniard Zuolaga, purchased at the 1903 Biennale, with its great expressivity and elegance, and the family group that Giacomo Favretto painted when he was barely twenty-four years old, skilfully paying great attention to detail, interplay of light and eyes. On the other hand, social themes were still receiving attention and being met with appreciation, with portrayals of scenes of a labourer’s or farmer’s life, filtered through the lesson of Impressionism but understood and reworked differently. For example, the light in the splendid canvas by the Spaniard Sorolla is completely Mediterranean; it was displayed at the 1905 Biennale where the city of Venice made a considerable investment to purchase it, together with the Peasant Girl by the Dutch artist Toorop. Another example is Liebermann’s calm and delicate portrayal of the lacemakers. Please return this card Ca’ Pesaro ENG International Gallery of Modern Art 3 4 4. Expressions of 14 13 15 1 2 5 symbolism and secession 12 7 6 11 10 9 8 Positivist faith in industrial and technological progress was no absolute dogma.

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